Mickelson endured a roller-coaster week at Riviera and almost blew a four shot advantage in the final round. With some wayward driving, he found himself two shots behind with three to play. But, digging deep he made an excellent birdie at the 16th then drove the green at the short par-4 17th before two-putting for another birdie. A par at the 18th was enough for a one shot victory.

“I’m pleased to be sitting here as the champion,” Mickelson said. “And it was not easy. I had a five-shot lead and I let it slide. The good thing was that I was able to fight hard. Even though I didn’t have my best stuff, I was able to fight through it.”

Lefty had been going through something of a slump before this tournament, he hadn’t been in the top-20 in any of his first three tournaments. But, he began the week strongly with an impressive 63 and it seemed he had re-found his game.

A one over par 72 in round two was less convincing, but Mickelson then roared back on Saturday with a superb 62. He was 10 shots worse than that in the final round but it was just enough to claim his 35th PGA Tour title and climb over Padraig Harrington into third spot on the Official World Golf Ranking.

49-year-old Fred Couples had a chance at victory but he needed a birdie on the final hole. His approach missed the green and hit a eucalyptus tree. He made bogey and had to settle for a tie for third. It was a difficult week for the former Masters Champion as his estranged wife Thais Baker died of breast cancer on Tuesday. They had never officially divorced after splitting up four years ago.

“She was a nice person,” he said. “She did everything she could to make it another month.”

Steve Stricker came closest to stealing the title from Mickelson but he missed putts on the 17th and 18th and fell just one shot shy.

“It’s just a little disappointing when you don’t finish it off, or have the opportunity to finish it off,” he said. “And I didn’t.”

Golf Monthly Newsletters

Please keep me up to date with special offers and news from Golf Monthly and other brands within the Time Inc. UK Group by email. You can unsubscribe at any time.

We'd also like to send you special offers and news just by email from other carefully selected companies we think you might like. Your personal details will not be shared with those companies - we send the emails and you can unsubscribe at any time. Please tick here if you are happy to receive these messages.